Magic Cookie Bars

 I am currently having a love affair with these...ohmygosh they are fantastic. Love The Girl Who Ate Everything-she never steers me wrong!

Ingredients

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup shredded coconut, (both sweetened and unsweetened work)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or grease well.
• In a medium bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until well combined. Press crumbs into the bottom of the pan firmly in an even layer to form the graham cracker base.
• Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the crust.
• Sprinkle the chocolate and butterscotch chips on top of the graham cracker crust in an even layer. Sprinkle the nuts and coconut flakes on top.
• Press down toppings gently with a fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until coconut starts to turn golden brown. Cool completely and cut into small squares.

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe and photo from Six Sisters'. Guys you gotta stop what you're doing and make these right now. They are so delicious! Peanut butter and chocolate-c'mon, but these are done in THE best way! 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups peanut butter, divided
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar together.

Add vanilla, eggs, and 1 cup peanut butter; stir to combine.

Add oats, flour, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.

Spray a baking sheet (half sheet jelly roll pan that is approximately 17.8 x 12.8 x 1 inch) with nonstick cooking spray and spread out dough in an even layer.

Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.

Drop remaining peanut butter by spoonfuls on top of warm bars and spread when peanut butter has begun to melt.

Let cool until peanut butter has set up.

While cooling, mix together frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth and spread on top of bars.

Cut into bars and serve.

Paleo Double Chocolate Turtle Bars

 

These are brought to you by Paleo Running Momma. They are DEFINITELY worth your time to make! Oh my gosh you'll never know these are a "healthier" treat! Mmmm! (Grain-free and paleo!)

Ingredients

for the chocolate cookie layer:

1/2 cup creamy cashew butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder or raw cacao
pinch salt

for the caramel pecan layer:
1 and 1/3 cups full fat coconut milk*
5 Tbsp organic coconut sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup dark chocolate morsels I used Enjoy Life Brand or your favorite dark chocolate chips/chopped chocolate

Instructions

1. Make the cookie layer first. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 x 8" baking dish with parchment paper along the bottom and up the sides.

2. Mix together the cashew butter, coconut sugar, and eggs until creamy. I used a hand mixer for this part. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut flour, cocoa powder and salt, then stir this mixture into the wet ingredients until fully combined. The dough will be sticky - chill it in the fridge for about 5 minutes - this will firm it up a bit as well as give the coconut flour time to settle and absorb moisture.

3. Now it's time to press the chocolate cookie dough into the parchment lined baking dish. The dough will still be sticky to work with even after chilled - I recommend wetting your hands just slightly to press/spread the dough evenly into the bottom of the dish. After pressing in the cookie dough, bake it in the preheated oven for 10 minutes**

4. To make the caramel, heat the coconut milk* and coconut sugar over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil (I typically raise the heat to medium/hi for this, you can increase the heat depending on your stovetop) while stirring. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer (this might be med/low or med depending on your stove, it should be bubbling but not boiling over) and continue to cook, stirring to avoid the sugar burning, until the mixture is thickened and deep caramel in color***

5. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, salt and chopped pecans, then spread the caramel pecan mixture over the chocolate cookie layer (after baking 10 minutes) and return to the oven to bake for another 12 minutes or until the middle begins to bubble.

6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Once they melt, use a toothpick to gently swirl the melted chocolate all over the top of the bars. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled, then cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*I chill the can prior to opening, discard half the "water" and blend up the rest before using
**be careful not to overtake since you'll be baking it again with the caramel layer
***This can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on your stove, mine seems to take less time than others!

Sugar Cookie M&M Bars

These could not be easier! I actually have made them without M&Ms, too, and then frost when cooled--either way! This is an easy way to make sugar cookie bars festive; just buy seasonal M&Ms for whatever you're celebrating! Recipe and photo from Betty Crocker!

1 pouch (17.5 oz) Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1egg
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 cup M&M's® chocolate candies

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. (I like using a 12x16 jelly roll pan so they are thinner, just depends on preference).
2. In large bowl, mix cookie mix, butter and egg with spoon until soft dough forms. Stir in white vanilla baking chips and 1/2 cup of the candies. Press dough in bottom of pan. Sprinkle remaining candies over top.
3. Bake 22 to 24 minutes or until edges are golden brown (center will look soft). Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in airtight container.

Pecan Pie Bars for a Crowd

 

Picture and recipe from Taste of Home! We loved these almost as much as pecan pie!

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cold butter (no substitutes)
• FILLING:
• 8 eggs
• 3 cups corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups chopped pecans

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until crust edges are beginning to brown and bottom is set.

For filling, combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla in a large bowl; mix well. Stir in pecans. Pour over crust. Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until edges are firm and center is almost set. Cool on wire racks. Cut into bars. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 6-8 dozen.

Originally published as Pecan Pie Bars in Taste of Home February/March 2004, p39

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. Delicious!! They can be gluten-free / dairy-free / sugar-free / egg-free / grain-free / soy-free / and oil-free

(Makes 12-16 bars)

• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly alternative (nut-free recipe here)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour – you can use spelt, white, sorghum, oat, almond, even or buckwheat (50g)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar of choice or xylitol
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (can be omitted)
• up to 2 tbsp milk of choice, only if needed

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, gently heat your nut butter if it is not already stir-able, then stir in the applesauce and vanilla extract, and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the baking soda, salt, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and keep stirring—it will seem very dry at first, so you’ll need to break up the nut butter and stop occasionally to scrape it off your spoon. Only if needed, slowly add up to 2 tbsp milk of choice as you stir. Don’t add more milk; it will eventually get gooey like cookie dough. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth down evenly with a spatula or spoon. Press some chocolate chips into the top if desired. Bake 10 minutes. When you take the peanut butter bars out, the top will look set but they will still be very undercooked underneath. This is okay! Leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes, during which time they will firm up. (They also firm up even more overnight.)

Jen's Sugar Cookie Bars

 This recipe comes from my friend Jen! It was SO much easier to make these than to cut out and frost individual cookies! And we all loved them! My husband actually loved them a lot and he doesn't even like sugar cookies! Enjoy!
  
Ingredients for cookies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients for Frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter; at room temperature
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 4 cups powdered sugar (sift after measuring)
• 5 tablespoons milk
• Food coloring, if desired

Instructions

1. To prepare bars: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased, rimmed baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). The dough will be just like cookie dough--heavy and sticky--so it's best to spray your hands with a little nonstick spray and use them to help mold the dough into the pan.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min (in my oven, 13 minutes is perfect), until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
5. To prepare frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until smooth and creamy. Mix in vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until combined, then add milk and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Add a few drops of color, if desired. Spread over cooled cookie, then cut into bars.